The present invention relates to a unitary container that separately contains two consumable products, preferably a dry consumable product and a liquid consumable product. More particularly, it relates to a portable, single-use container that contains both a liquid product and a dry product, such as milk and cereal, and promotes single-handed, simultaneous dispensing of the products.
A highly popular combination food item is dry cereal and milk. Typically, the cereal and milk are combined in a bowl, and then consumed using a spoon. Thus, so long as the consumer is at a stationary location and has a table and spoon available, the cereal and milk meal is readily prepared and eaten. Unfortunately, however, it is virtually impossible to easily consume the milk and cereal while traveling (or “on-the-go”) due to the open nature of the bowl and the requirement of a spoon. For example, it is highly difficult to carry a bowl of cereal and milk without spilling the combination product (e.g., walking, hiking, traveling in an automobile, etc.). Further, on-the-go consumption (i.e., no convenient structure such as a table onto which the bowl can be placed) occupies both of the user's hands; one hand holding the bowl and the other hand holding the spoon.
This lack of transportability is in direct contrast to recent consumer preferences. In particular, consumers have expressed a heightened desire for their favorite consumable products to be packaged in single-serving containers that facilitate convenient, single-handed, on-the-go consumption. In fact, manufacturers have now made available a wide variety of food products in portable, single-handed consumption packages or containers. For example, beverages, such as soda pop, milk, etc., are commonly sold in single-serving containers. Other food products, ranging from yogurt to dry snack foods, are also similarly packaged. In general terms, the packaging technique for these products is relatively straightforward in that only a single type of consumable item is contained. In other words, a single-serving beverage container need only define a single storage region for containing the beverage. Similarly, a snack food package has a single compartment enclosing a single type of snack food. In direct contrast, a container for cereal and milk must separately contain the two items prior to consumption. If the cereal and milk were initially combined within a single compartment, the quality of the cereal would quickly deteriorate, as would the milk.
Efforts have been made to provide packaging that separately contains a single-serving of cereal and a single-serving of milk. For the most part, however, these packaging efforts still require a spoon for consumption of the combined cereal and milk, and thus do not promote on-the-go consumption. Alternatively, a hand-held container defining a first compartment for milk and a second compartment for cereal has been proposed, for example, by Ness, U.S. Pat. No. 5,753,289. While satisfying several consumer preferences, the prior single container, dual compartment design raises additional potential drawbacks.
As a starting point, to be viable on a mass production basis, the milk compartment must be sanitized, preferably aseptically sterilized, prior to filling with milk, to provide an extended shelf life or ultra-pasteurized product for sale to consumers. With this in mind, the container of U.S. Pat. No. 5,753,289 utilizes a single screw cap to close integrally formed cereal and milk compartments. Unfortunately, because both compartments are fully exposed when the cap is removed, it is virtually impossible for the product manufacturer to sterilize the container, fill the compartments with cereal and milk in an acceptably sterile environment, and then seal the container without negatively impacting the quality of the milk and/or cereal. In other words, if the milk is dispensed before the cereal is placed within the cereal compartment, the subsequent cereal dispensement will destroy the requisite sterility of the milk compartment. Conversely, if the cereal compartment is filled first and then the milk compartment is sanitized, the sanitizing agent will likely contact the cereal, rendering it inedible. Further, if a consumer attempts to re-use the container, he/she will likely not appreciate the level of cleanliness required of a milk container, and may not properly sanitize the device.
An untapped consumer demand exists for a portable, combination cereal and milk packaged good item. Unfortunately, existing designs either hinder on-the-go consumption, or present potentially insurmountable manufacturing obstacles. Therefore, a need exists for a portable, single-use packaged good item that separately contains both a dry consumable product, such as cereal, and a liquid consumable product, such as milk, and a method of manufacturing such an item.